Robert Carney stepped into his new role as executive director of Cabarrus Economic Development on Aug. 1. The Hickory native and East Carolina University graduate previously led the Mooresville-South Iredell Economic Development Corp. since 2010. Now that he’s had a couple of months to fully immerse himself in all things Cabarrus County, we asked him about his plans for leading economic development efforts and recruiting new business and industry to the area.